Nail with head removable by twisting



July 9, 1963 J. E. DUDGEON 3,096,680

NAIL WITH HEAD REMOVABLE BY TWISTING Filed June 3, 1960 INVENTOR. J. E. D U D GEON United States Patent 0 1 3,096,680 NAIL WITH HEAD REMOVABLE BY TWISTIN G John E. Dudgeon, 3920 Dodge St, Omaha, Nebr. Filed June 3, 1960, Ser. No. 33,697 1 Claim. (Cl. 85-23) This invention relates to building construction and repair or remodeling, particularly of molding or trim of window, door, or cabinet frames, and in particular finishing nails having inner or false heads connected by web-s having weak portions therein to conventional heads, and having rotation preventing wings or wedges extended from the outer surfaces and spaced inwardly from a point, whereby with the nail driven through a facing strip or trim into a fname or stud the outer head and Web are broken ofl by twisting the web, such as by claws of a claw hammer, and putty or other filler is retained by grooves fonmed by the wings in an opening or countersink formed by the inner or false head. The purpose of this invention is to provide a finishing nail in which the necessity for using a countersinking punch is obviated.

Finishing nails are provided with relatively small heads and after being driven through facing strips, molding, base boards and the like until outer surfaces of the heads are flush with the facing strips and the like, it is necessary to use a punch to sink the heads of the nails into the material a sufficient distance to provide a recess for putty to cover the heads. The oil of the putty is often absorbed by the wood of the facing strips causing the putty to shrink, with the result that the putty often drops out of the recess.

Furthermore, the hammer head and punch often mar the surface of the facing strips and the like, and such marks are difficult to sandpaper out of the wood.

With these thoughts in mind this invention contemplates a finishing nai-l having wings on the sides and spaced inwardly from the point and having a disc providing a conventional head carried by a web extended from an inner or false head on the end of the body of the nail.

The object of this invention is to provide a finishing nail in which the conventional punch for setting the head of the nail into the wood is not required.

Another object of the invention is to provide a finishing nail in which the end surface of the head is spaced inwardly from the surface of material into which the nail is driven as the nail is driven into the material.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a finishing nail having wings on the sides and in which a conventional head is spaced from a false head by a web in which a counterbore is formed by the false head as the nail is driven into the wood, and in which the wings form grooves in the counterbore for preventing accidental displacement of putty positioned in the counterbore providing a cover for the head of the nail.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a finishing nail having a false head spaced inwardly from a conventional head in which a weak point is provided between the heads so that after driving the nail into position the conventional head is broken away by the hammer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a finishing nail having a pair of spaced heads wherein one head is driven into the material with the other head spaced from the surface of the material so that the possibilityof marring the surface of thema-terial is substantially eliminated.

3,096,680 Patented July 9, 1963 A still further object of the invention is to provide a finishing nail having a false head spaced inwardly from a conventional head, and having wings extended from the surface, in which the nail is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies an elongated shank having a point on one end, a head on the opposite end, fins or wings extended from the sides, and an additional head connected by a web with a weak section therein to the former head and spaced from said former head.

I am aware that others have heretofore proposed the use of a double headed nail adapted to break off at a point immediately outwardly of the inner head. However, the principle for the breaking off of the outer portion that has heretofore been used is a reciprocal back and forth motion of the outer portion for breaking it off. Such a back and forth motion will cause the outer section to enlarge the opening in the wood through which the inner head has passed thereby making that opening relatively unsightly. When such an opening is filled with putty, the circumference of the putty is preferably circular and leaves the attractive finish which does credit to an excellent craftsman.

However, when a head is broken off by means of a reciprocal back and forth bending, then the enlargement of the opening in the wood causes the opening to have an elongated shape and is relatively unsightly. Moreover, the amount of bending required by different nails before breakage Will vary slightly and will defeat uniformity. The greatest factor for defeating uniformity, however, is the variation in the length of the arc of the bending motion used by the operator in bending off the outer end of one nail as compared with the length of the arc of the bending motion the same operator may use in bending off the head of an adjacent nail. Thus, the opening through the wood is elongated more so on one nail than another, leaving the putty of unmatching shape and size.

Even more important as a disadvantage in the recip.

rocal bending principle is the factor that a nail is pounded into a trim piece in a different rotational position from an adjacent nail whereby one opening will be elongated horizontally, another vertically, and another at an acute angle to the vertical, whereby none will match.

Also variations in the hardness of the wood will cause" It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a nail, the outer portion of which is particularly designed to be broken off by a twisting motion. For this design, I prefer that the outer portion be connected to the inner head at a weak point in which the greatest thickness transversely of the nail at the weak point is not as great as the diameter of the inner head of the nail, whereby twisting is not resisted excessively and so that the head of the nail can be more effectively broken off by twisting than by reciprocal bending.

A further object is to provide a cross section of the outer portion of the nail at the Weak point which is just outwardly of the inner head, which is free of webs such as would resist twisting.

A still further object is to provide a nail, the outer portion of which, is provided with two fiat sides to facilitate the gripping thereof between the claws of a hammer so they can be firmly held for twisting.

A particular object is to provide a nail, the inner portion of which, is adapted to make an opening in the exterior of the wood which is substantially the same as the standard opening of a standard finishing nail whereby the appearance of the finished nail hole is conventional, preferably substantially circular, and of good appearance, appearance being a primary factor in the finishing nail part of carpentry, much more so than in the more crude structural carpentry.

A particular object is to provide a nail, the inner portion of which, is provided with wings extending outwardly therefrom in order to prevent the inner portion from rotation and in order to cooperate with the twisting principle above described for a removal of the outer portion whereby break-off can be effectively done by twisting instead of by reciprocal bending movements of the outer portion.

I am aware that others have placed wings on the inner ends of nails. However, this has heretofore been done for achieving the purpose of barbs, such as the barbs on a fish hook, although of different shape, and for the purpose of preventing the nail from pulling out.

The wings on my nail are for the entirely different purpose of preventing rotation, however, and hence are not claimed as my invention, except in combination with a double-headed nail having an outer end designed to be broken away by rotation rather than reciprocation for bending.

A further object is to provide a nail which is adapted to be broken off at its outer end not due to the principle of a weakening through the heat of reciprocal bending, as one commonly breaks a wire in two, but instead through the principle of twisting as achieved particularly by my concept of having reliance upon a weak point just outwardly of the inner head rather than a reliance upon a reciprocal bending and weakening by the heat thereof.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational View of the improved finishing nail with part of the shank broken away.

FIGURE 2 is a cross section through a web connecting heads of the nail taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the nail shown in FIGURE 1, also with part broken away.

FIGURE 4 is a cross section through the nail shown in FIGURE 3, taken on line 44 thereof.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of a finishing nail having spaced heads showing the nail in the position of securing a molding strip to a stud.

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to that shown in FIGURE 5 showing a claw hammer in the position of twisting one of the heads from the end of the nail.

FIGURE 7 is a view also similar to that shown in FIGURE 5 showing the head and web removed from the nail, and also showing the recess or counterbore beyond the head of the nail filled with putty.

FIGURE 8 is a view illustrating a modification wherein a finishing nail provided with wings and spaced heads is also provided with grooves or threads inside of the inner head.

While one embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the above-referred-to dnawings, it is to be understood that they are merely for the purpose of illustration and that various changes in construction may be resorted to in the course of manufacture in order that the invention may be utilized to the best advantage according to circumstances which may arise, without in any manner departing from the spirit and intention of the device, which is to be limited only in accordance with the appended claim. And while there is stated the primary field of utility of the invention it remains obvious that it may be employed in any other capacity wherein it may be found applicable.

In the accompanying drawings, and in the following specification, the same reference characters are used to designate the same parts and elements throughout, and in which the numeral It) refers to the invention in its entirety, numeral 12 designating a cylindrical body or shank having a point 14 at one end and a false or inner head 16 at the other, numerals I8 and 20 wings extended from sides of the shank, and numeral 22 an outer or conventional head connected to the head 16 by a web 24.

The web 24 is provided with arcuate edges 26 and 28 which converge to points 3t) and 32 at the intersection of the web with the head 16, as shown in FIGURE 1, and upon twisting or bending of the web or head 22 the web breaks at the end surface of the head 16.

The wings 18 and 20 project outwardly beyond the peripheral surface of the head 16, whereby in being driven through the molding or facing 34 into the stud 36 the edges of the wings fonm slots 38' and 40 in the inner surface of a counterbore or recess 4-2 formed by the head 16.

In driving the improved finishing nail through the facing 34 the head 16 forms the counterbore 42, which extends inwardly to a point 44, that may be any suitable distance from the outer face of the molding, whereby an open area is provided for putty or the like, which forms a cover for the head of the nail.

After driving the nail into the facing and stud or frame to the point 44 the web of the nail is gripped by the claws 46 of a clawham-mer 48, and upon twisting the web with the shank held to prevent turning by the wings 18 and 20, the web breaks between the points 30 and 32, and the web and head 22 are removed.

Upon squeezing putty 50 into the recess or counterbore 42 the putty is forced into the slots 38 and 4% and the possibility of the putty being accidentally displaced is reduced to a In the design shown in FIGURE 8 a finishing nail 52 having a point 54 and heads 56 and 58 is illustrated, and in this design the portion of the shank adjacent the head 58 is provided with ridges or threads 60, and the outer head 56 is provided with a size much larger in diameter than the shank 52 and as large as a common nail head as distinguished from the smaller finishing nail head to be more easily hit to avoid wood marring. The shank is also provided with wings 64- and 65. The improved finishing nail of this invention may, therefore, be provided in different patterns and designs.

The outer edges of the wings 64 and 66 are very thin to minimize the thickness or size of the slots 38 and 40 in the wood, but ample to allow putty to be received in the slots 38 and 40 so that putty in the slots binds the putty in the nail head opening proper to the wall so the putty tends to stay in place.

From the foregoing specification it will become apparent that the invention disclosed will adequately accomplish the functions for which it has been designed and in an economical manner and that its simplicity, accuracy, and ease of operation are such as to provide a relatively inexpensive device considering what it will accomplish and that it will find an important place in the art to which it appertains when once placed on the market.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Changes in shape, size, and arrangement of details and parts such as come within the purview of the invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice if desired.

Having now described the invention that which is claimed to be new and desired to be procured by Letters Patent is:

In .a finishing nail, the combination which comprises an elongated cylindrical body, said body having a point on one end, Wings extended from the intermediate portion, each wing having an inclined leading edge and fiat sides and each wing extending radially beyond said body, and an enlarged laterally extending inner head on the end opposite to the end on which the point is positioned, a Web having opposite sides flat and parallel to each other, a portion of reduced cross sectional area therein that is joined to and is extended from the inner head, said area being less than the smallest cross sectional area of said body, and an outer head carried by said web, said Web flat sides extending substantially from said head to said reduced area.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS outer 

